Not Being a Trainer This Time

The sharp and wise Chi-Yu sensed a gaze, it turned its head, and its eyes met with a strange Pokemon in mid-air.

It was a Pokemon that looked to have a very large head.

A gentle blue aura radiated from its entire body, floating softly in the air, looking at them with eyes full of wisdom and kindness.

Ting-Lu also turned its head and looked at Calyrex.

"Moo moo?" (Who are you?)

Calyrex directed its gaze towards the Pokemon with a large cauldron on its head, and in the next moment, its dignified voice echoed within the minds of Ting-Lu and Chi-Yu.

"I am Calyrex."

*

World Tree, Domain of Earth.

Red magma flowed swiftly above the earth, Groudon’s Earth Vein Energy surged, transforming into Precipice Blades and attacking Kubfu.

Kubfu’s expression was resolute, and not a trace of fear could be seen on its young face.

It locked its gaze on Groudon in the distance and then boldly charged in that direction.

"Boom!"

The ground trembled and cracked; even though Precipice Blades had not yet arrived, the fissures already spread to Kubfu’s feet.

Seeing the crack was about to swallow Kubfu, it suddenly leapt on the spot, landed on the stone wall beside it, and began its wall scaling!

Precipice Blades approached fiercely, and Kubfu clenched its fists, actively confronting it.

With the sound of an explosion, Kubfu’s body was sent flying backward, falling to the ground covered in wounds.

"Well done!"

Naoki then stepped forward, using the Power of Viridian to heal Kubfu’s injuries.

Feeling that warm energy within its body, Kubfu was pleasantly surprised: "Beya?"

Naoki smiled and said, "We’ve just arrived. Let’s call it a day for now. We’ll continue tomorrow."

"Beya!" Kubfu nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Groudon halted its offensive, glanced at Naoki, and then turned away, heading towards the volcano.

Gazing in the direction Groudon left, Naoki smiled and then said to Kubfu: "Let’s go too!"

"Beya!"

The man and Pokemon left the World Tree and returned to the ranch.

Koraidon and Cyclizar were already waiting for him at the door.

Naoki glanced in the direction of Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien, then reached out to pat the heads of several Pokemon:

"Alright, I’ll go prepare dinner, you all can play for now."

"Gyaa!"

"Agassi!"

"Beya!"

For tonight’s dinner, Naoki took out some preserved meat from the storeroom and made a home-style dish, Stir-fried Preserved Meat with Bamboo Shoots, using the bamboo shoots that Kubfu had previously gifted.

The effect of combining these two different ingredients turned out to be surprisingly good.

The fresh aroma of bamboo shoots perfectly fused with the unique fragrance of preserved meat, further highlighting its rich flavor, with each bite bursting with flavor.

Just the scent was enough to make one drool.

Naoki placed the stir-fried dish onto a serving plate, taking a moment to glance at its effect.

[Stir-fried Preserved Meat with Bamboo Shoots (B): A home-cooked dish made with bamboo shoots gifted by Kubfu and preserved meat, stir-fried on high heat, perfectly blending the aromas of bamboo shoots and preserved meat together.

Cooking Effect: Treasure of the Bear, greatly increases the friendliness of panda-type Pokemon. When consumed by panda Pokemon, they will feel satisfied, entering an ethereal state, lasting for 5 hours. This effect is only effective on panda Pokemon.

Ethereal State: A special status where Pokemon occasionally have sudden inspirations, greatly increasing insight ↑↑↑, while memory slightly ↓.

Review: For enthusiasts, it’s a rare and exquisite delicacy.]

Ethereal State? Naoki was somewhat surprised.

A significant boost in insight, but a slight decrease in memory... if these offset each other, it would still bring some increase in comprehension for the Pokemon.

But the problem seemed to be that this dish’s effect was only effective on panda-type Pokemon.

Does Kubfu count as a panda?

After a brief thought, Naoki decided to have Kubfu try it later since his name does have "bear" in it.

Besides Stir-fried Preserved Meat with Bamboo Shoots, Naoki also steamed a pot of rice with preserved meat.

Soon, that unique fragrance wafted through the air, reaching the ranch.

In no time, a group of Pokemon who were playing outside was attracted by the aroma and came over.

Koraidon, Cyclizar, Flutter Mane, Dragonite...

They gathered eagerly in front of the kitchen, impatient to taste the food emitting that aroma.

Seeing this scene, Naoki chuckled and said, "Is it really that fragrant?"

Those pieces of preserved meat were the ones he had dried and cured previously because he had bought too much meat and feared it would spoil.

Unexpectedly, this stuff turned out to be quite popular among the Pokémon.

"Roar!"

Dragonite eagerly nodded its large head, imagining how delicious the meat with that unique aroma would taste.

Beside it, Koraidon and Cyclizar also nodded in agreement.

"Argh hiss!"

Seeing this, Naoki took out a few pieces of preserved meat and fed them one by one to the Pokémon in front of him.

The cured meat, with a distinct balance of fat and lean, turns golden and glossy after being stir-fried over high heat, looking very tempting.

As soon as the meat was in their mouths, the Pokémon experienced an unusual savory-salty taste blending with the meat’s aroma, soft and springy, neither dry nor greasy.

"Munn!"

Flutter Mane’s eyes instantly sparkled.

It loved this kind of food!

So, Flutter Mane swallowed the meat in its mouth and then impatiently looked towards the pot.

"No rush, we still have a lot at home, eat more if you like," Naoki said with a smile.

At worst, he could just buy some fresh meat to cure into preserved meat again.

Hearing this, Dragonite happily hugged Naoki.

"Roar～"

"Alright, alright, let go, get ready, it’s mealtime soon!" Naoki patted Dragonite’s pudgy paws.

Upon hearing this, the Pokémon immediately ran to the dining table and sat nicely, waiting for the meal.

Meanwhile, the Indeedee Sibling helped Naoki bring the dinner to the table.

Naoki deliberately placed the stir-fried preserved meat with bamboo shoots in front of Kubfu: "Want to give it a try?"

"Huh ah?"

Kubfu immediately lowered its head and tried a bit.

In the next moment, a thrilled expression emerged on its face, and it began to wolf down the food.

However, what caught Kubfu’s interest wasn’t the bamboo shoots but the preserved meat...

"Kubfu really isn’t like a panda..." It’s a pity, otherwise it could help Kubfu advance further.

Seeing Kubfu also liked it, Naoki said, "Eat up, tomorrow I’ll go to town to see if there are fresh bamboo shoots for sale, then I’ll buy some back to make this dish for you all again."

"Huh!" Kubfu appeared very happy.

*

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Naoki sent Kubfu to train at the World Tree.

Then, he rode Koraidon and embarked on the journey to capture Chien-Pao.

In the ranch, Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien watched in the direction where Koraidon left.

Ting-Lu: "Moo moo." (Looks like we can meet that Chien-Pao guy soon.)

Chi-Yu: "Goo huu..." (I haven’t seen it for a long time, wonder what it looks like now...)

"Moo moo!" (Don’t worry, Naoki will definitely find it, then the four of us can reunite, I’m really looking forward to that moment!)

Chi-Yu floated in Ting-Lu’s large cauldron, thinking about the silent Wo-Chien, it asked:

"Goo huu?"

Wo-Chien basked in the morning sun, enjoying this moment comfortably.

A long time ago, before being devoured by the Power of Calamity, it loved to stay on the grass from dawn till dusk, sunbathing.

This lifestyle is really comfortable!

What? It seems like Chi-Yu and Ting-Lu are talking about Chien-Pao?

Wo-Chien slowly realized.

"Goo hiss." (No worries, since I’m fine, Chien-Pao definitely will be too, now I’m going to take a good nap, yawn...zzZ.)

Wo-Chien’s voice gradually softened, and at the end, it actually yawned, lowered its head, and drifted into sleep.

Chi-Yu: "..."

It should have known it would be like this.

Ting-Lu watched this scene with a chuckle, "Moo moo!" (This old guy is still the same!)